Toll Shooting Suspect Sued For $10 Million

The parents of 8-month-old Brittany Stauss, who was critically injured in a shooting on the Northwest Tollway, filed a $10 million civil lawsuit Monday against the man charged in the shooting.

Diana Penman and Richard Mar are asking for the damages from suspect David Corn, who was charged with firing a shot that struck the infant during a traffic dispute with Mar last month on the tollway.

Brittany, who is listed in good condition at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, suffered brain damage, blindness and possible hearing loss, the attorney for her parents said Monday.

"It appears the baby is definitely blind," said attorney Edward Vrdolyak. "As far as her mental capacity, time will tell. But she's lost brain matter.

"It's tragedy upon tragedy. She's in a limbo state."

Penman and Mar, who live in Hanover Park, were not available for comment.

Dr. John R. Ruge, a member of the medical team caring for Brittany, said Monday that the infant was in a "rehabilitative setting" and that it was too early to give a long-term prognosis.

The doctor would not comment on whether Brittany might be permanently blind, deaf or brain-damaged.

Vrdolyak said Brittany, who has undergone two head operations, already has incurred "hundreds of thousands of dollars' " worth of medical expenses, and will need future medical rehabilitation. Mar and Penman are not insured, he said.

The bullet that hit Brittany had passed through the window of Mar's van and struck her in the head. Brittany's twin brother, Timothy, and her parents were not injured in the April 14 shooting near the Des Plaines Oasis.

Meanwhile, Brittany's aunt, Rhonda Kemmer, said the infant might be released from the hospital on Friday. A hospital spokesman could not confirm that she'd be released.

"She has a feeding tube, and her muscles are moving," Kemmer said. "But she doesn't seem to know anybody.

"It's a wait-and-see situation. It's probably going to be a matter of her starting all over again, but we're optimistic about her future," she said.

The three-count lawsuit states that David Corn, of Harwood Heights, was driving in a "reckless and openly hostile manner" and that he "intentionally, willfully and maliciously aimed and fired a handgun" at the van in which Brittany was a passenger.

Corn's estranged wife, Beatrice Corn, also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. She was the registered owner of the car David Corn was driving during the alleged shooting. The lawsuit charges that Beatrice Corn was negligent because she loaned him the car even though his license had been revoked.

David Corn, 39, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and felony driving on a revoked license.

He is being held in Cook County Jail in lieu of $1.75 million bond.

Corn is due in the Rolling Meadows branch of circuit court Monday for an arraignment, said his attorney, Barry Spector. Spector said he would be representing Corn in the civil case. He would not comment further on the lawsuit.